WACO — Baylor is just over two weeks away from football returning to campus in its gleaming, new $260 million McLane Stadium along I-35 and the banks of the Brazos River. From Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III’s statue and sail-gating outside to the defending Big 12 champions playing inside, the program will just about have it all when the season opens Aug. 31 against SMU.

“It’s going to be very symbolic of the new Baylor,” athletic director Ian McCaw said, “and the fact that we have emerged as a serious national program.”

That McCaw can make that statement at all is a marvel. Whether Baylor can continue to make that claim in the coming seasons is the test.

The Bears want to be year-in, year-out contenders, beginning with the follow-up to last season’s breakthrough Big 12 crown.

Coach Art Briles, in his seventh season, is in the first year of a new, 10-year deal, back with his irrepressible, 52.4 points-per-game offense and quarterback Bryce Petty, Heisman contender.

What of, though, that 52-42 loss to UCF in last season’s Fiesta Bowl, in which some would say Baylor was exposed? And BU will have to show it can win when it matters most on the road ... say at Oklahoma on Nov. 8.

Speaking of the Sooners, they were picked to win the Big 12 by media covering the league. The Bears were relegated to No. 2, higher than any past projection but shy of where they want to go coming off their first outright conference title since 1980.

Staying power is the sticking point. The likes of Kansas, Northwestern and Wake Forest rose from the depths to earn trips to the Orange and Rose bowls but couldn’t remain among the elite.

In Waco, they’re talking the inaugural College Football Playoff as the next phase, and they mean it.

“We have a lot of unfinished business,” Briles said as Baylor started camp last week. “And there are a lot of people that we feel like we need to prove ourselves to, ourselves first of all, then our opponents.

“There are a lot of things out there that we haven’t done.”

Petty was so distraught after Baylor fell in the Fiesta, its first trip to a BCS bowl, last January that he had to be reminded of the greatness of the 2013 season — going a school-record 11-2, the conference championship that had grown men blubbering happily. The Bears clinched the title on a dramatic December Saturday. First Oklahoma knocked off Oklahoma State to set the stage, and then Baylor finished off Texas in the final game at Floyd Casey Stadium.

Petty continues to use the bowl loss as motivation. On Twitter, he retweeted what a needling fan had sent him: “Remember when you beat UCF? Neither do I.”

“I’m going to do everything I can,” Petty said, “everything in my power to make sure preparation wise, strength wise, quarterback wise, that I will not let my team down like that again.”

Briles likes to keep his team chasing — respect, firsts, what few others think is possible.

That’s one of the qualities McCaw saw in Briles, now 58, when he hired him from Houston in late 2007. Baylor was riding a streak of 12 straight losing seasons and had gone 0-8 in the Big 12 in 2007. It was recently revealed in Briles’ autobiography, Beating Goliath, that McCaw received death threats for bypassing former Bears star Mike Singletary.

But McCaw’s pick has set Baylor up for success for the long haul.

“Certainly it starts with Coach Briles and his long-term commitment to the university,” McCaw said. “We feel our program is sustainable. As a matter of fact, in many ways we feel we’re still building and growing. We think this can be a perennial national program.”

Briles, on a visit to ESPN, recently admitted that “there was some conversation” about the open Texas job last season, “but not to the extent I felt like I cheated on my wife.”

McCaw ticked off the key building blocks of Baylor’s climb over the last six seasons, from the first of four straight bowl games that ended a 15-year postseason drought in 2010 to RG3’s Heisman in 2011 to last season.

Baylor has invested $325 million in facility upgrades for football. Briles and his innovative offense has ranked first or second nationally for the last three seasons. Part of the magic comes from the continuity in the coaching staff. Offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery, offensive line coach Randy Clements and passing game coordinator Kendal Briles (Art’s son) have been with Briles dating back to their Stephenville High days.

Baylor is getting better players, evidenced by BU leading Texas and Big 12 schools with five selections in the 2014 NFL draft.

Rivals ranked the 2014 class No. 35 nationally and the 2015 class is currently No. 42.

Senior offensive tackle Troy Baker said he figures he wouldn’t get recruited by Baylor these days.

The Waco native had a different early impression of Baylor than kids growing up today will. He remembers attending Baylor’s 27-24 loss to UNLV in 1999 under new coach Kevin Steele. BU fumbled instead of taking a knee late and UNLV returned the ball 99 yards for the winning score. Baker said his family didn’t return to a game at the hometown U for years.

Current recruits can be wooed with last season’s conference title, Baylor’s first since a five-way tie atop the Southwest Conference in 1994.

“After winning a championship, your goals get bigger,” linebacker Bryce Hager said. “You want to win a national championship. It’s definitely more real now than when I got here five years ago.”

Baylor got knocked out of the national title chatter last season with its first loss, a 49-17 disaster at Oklahoma State on Nov. 23. The performance already raises the intrigue about this season’s possibly crucial trip to Oklahoma. BUs defense, which led the FBS in three-and-outs last season under coordinator Phil Bennett, will have to continue solid play despite replacing seven starters. The Bears also might find little leeway with a lightweight nonconference schedule that has generated discussion nationally.

But Baylor just sees another opportunity to reinforce its new image.

“We’re here to stay,” Petty said. “And I think that’s on the forefront of everybody’s mind, that we’re doing everything we can to leave it better than we found it.”

Baylor under Briles:

Season

Overall

Big 12

Offense (ypg)

FBS rank

2008

4-8

2-6

376.4

46

2009

4-8

1-7

342.9

85

2010

7-6

4-4

475.3

13

2011

10-3

6-3

587.1

2

2012

8-5

4-5

572.2

2

2013

11-2

8-1

618.8

1

IN THE KNOW: Baylor

Coach: Art Briles

Record: Seventh season at Baylor (44-32), 78-60 overall

Returning starters: 5 offense, 4 defense

KEY QUESTIONS

Will the offense be even better? QB Bryce Petty, WR Antwan Goodley and RB Shock Linwood give reason to believe the offense can be just as good if not better than last season. LT Spencer Drango is healthy again on a formidable offensive line. The Bears will dare defenses to try to slow them. They led the nation in 2013 with 618.8 yards per game and 29 scoring drives of one minute or less.

Defense needs to stay strong: With seven starters to replace and questions at linebacker and in the secondary, Baylor can’t afford a big drop-off. From 2012 to 2013, Baylor jumped from 19 sacks to 32, from 58 tackles for loss to 99 and from 25 takeaways to 29. The total defense improved to 28th nationally from 119th.

Petty for Heisman? Petty says all the right things about team results taking care of individual goals. But he admitted he’s driven by spending last season’s Heisman Trophy weekend on his couch after passing for 4,200 yards and 32 touchdowns to only 3 interceptions.

Heat is on: DE Shawn Oakman and DE Jamal Palmer combined for 231/2 tackles for loss last season but neither started. DC Phil Bennett wants to see them power the new-look defense in starting roles.

Stumbling block: Baylor’s short trip to Texas on Oct. 4, its third straight game on the road, could give the Bears a chance to earn their heavyweight status after a light early schedule. Proven success on the road could help when Baylor travels to West Virginia and Oklahoma.

To post a comment, log into your chosen social network and then add your comment below. Your comments are subject to our Terms of Service and the privacy policy and terms of service of your social network. If you do not want to comment with a social network, please consider writing a letter to the editor.

About Kate Hairopoulos

Kate Hairopoulos has written for The Dallas Morning News since 2003, covering college sports and Olympics since 2006.

Favorite Dallas restaurants: Nora, Komali, Ali Baba.

Best sports memories: Covering the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 2010 Vancouver Olympics and 2012 London Olympics. The travel associated with and the magnitude of the Games is always compelling. Close second: the wild ride of covering Johnny Manziel's Texas A&M career essentially from start to finish.

Something readers don't know about me:Where to begin? That visit to the bruja in Mexico City? The love for Walker, Texas Ranger? Career was inspired by late father, David, devotee to all things sports.